"Striding to Attention"

The elderly woman looks puzzled. Three teenage girls just stare and giggle. The Mall Man strides by, uniquely dressed, saying little but commanding everyone's attention.

For the past for years, the mysterious, tall Aboriginal man has been fascinating shoppers and sightseers. He walks from the Myer Centre end of Rundle Mall to the end of Rundle St up to nine or 10 times a day, almost every day of the week. He rarely speaks but picks out people he likes and acknowledges them with a smile.

His name is Johnny Haysman and his fame stems from his flamboyant fashion sense and his sparse-but-bushy hair styled much in the fashion of Krusty the Clown from the Simpsons. In summer, he most often goes topless, simply wearing Speedos and gumboots or a white leotard; on his back a small koala shaped backpack, a white jacket with black bicycle pants or black footy shorts -and the gumboots are often mixed. "I started wearing different clothes when I was younger because I felt like it," Haysman says, "I've just kept doing it. I buy them in op-shops. There cheap. I'm not an attention seeker and I don't want to be famous. Its who I am."

Haysman, 30, was adopted into a white Clare home when he was five weeks old. A close relative is former SA Sheffield Shield cricketer Michael Haysman, who was part of the Australian rebel team which toured South Africa in 1985, and later settled there. For the past seven years, Johnny Haysman has lived in Queenstown, occasionally visiting Clare on weekends and making his daily trek to the city by bus. As a teenager, he was "like any other kid", says his father.

"He played a lot of sport - footy, basketball and cricket. He was very good at footy. He played in the under-19s for south Adelaide," he says. "It was probably in his late teens when he started dressing differently. I have no idea why; its just him. I wouldn't have a clue what's in his wardrobe. I would be game enough to have a look. He know that he brings smiles to people. He knows lots of people in the mall. Hes a sweet and gentle guy."

Ned, the assistant manager at the Clare Hotel, says Haysman's fondness for walking up and down the streets started in the country town when he was in his mid-teens. "Johnny's just different," he says. "Everybody knows him up here. He's a bit of an identity and creates a lot of talk with visitors."

Haysman says he is a private person who dabbled in drugs when he was younger but hasn't smoked or had a drink since he was 18. He also dispels the popular rumour that he worked as a model. "I used to be a bit of a weightlifter and I did a bit of body building." he says. "I moved to Adelaide to be a manual labourer for Telstra laying fibre-optic cables. I've worked as a grape picker, which I do part-time."

His philosophy on life? "You've got to accept everybody as they are and find the positives in everything you do," he says. "Its important to make people happy and put a smile on their faces. There are a lot of fake people around. Some people aren't genuine. You can't trust everything you see on TV, radio or in the newspapers. It brainwashes a lot of young people. You've got to experience life for ourself and work things out for yourself. I love Adelaide. "I love being among the busy people. I walk the streets because if I didn't I'd be at home, bored,. Its good exercise."

And for the future, there is one goal at the top of his wish list: "I'm a bit of a loner," he says. "I'm still single. I'd like to get married one day."

Johnny Haysman's fame is such that there's even a Website devoted to him. It claims to provide a "complete and comprehensive" page on him and has had more than 5000 hits.

"I know about the Website," he says. "My parents have been sent pictures. But it doesn't bother me, just as long as I don't see it. I don't consider myself famous."